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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. file — a document
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. file — a line of people
  6. wax — to grow
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. cap — a hat
  9. vault — a safe
  10. file — a tool
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — of ice
  14. lean — to bend
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. lean — thin
  18. wax — for sculpting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com